Tag Archives: world of warcraft

In light of some of the incredibly negative reviews Warcraft has garnered, I’m going to share my thoughts on both the good and the bad. While there were certainly plenty of things the film could have done better (like any film, really), it was still an extremely enjoyable movie that managed to rise well above the expectations and assumptions about video game adaptations.

I think the biggest mistake was how rushed the opening of the film was. While I can absolutely understand the potential motivation they might have had to use the rapid-fire introductions as a way to convey the sense of urgency and danger, it wasn’t a gambit that payed off. Warcraft fans are familiar enough with the characters and setting to nullify this issue, but newcomers to the franchise might find the first 25 or so minutes confusing. After that, however, the pacing finds its footing.

As I mentioned in my crash course on the Warcraft universe, the hallmark of the franchise is the mostly even treatment of the two factions. That said, I think Warcraft would have been stronger for new viewers if they’re started with the humans and used them to ground the audience in the setting and hook them into the world before introducing them to the more fantastic and mythical Orcs. The film did manage to convey that the Orcs were beings of honor who had the same strengths and weaknesses in terms of personality that humans do.

Khadgar and the portrayal of magic was one of the highlights of the film. I can say without a hint of reservation that Warcraft delivered my absolute favorite use of on-screen magic in film history. If you’re a fantasy fan who leans towards the sorcery aspect of swords-and-sorcery, I implore you to see this film. Khadgar was a scene-stealer who quickly became the highlight of the film. Due partly to the aforementioned magic and partly to his everyman-with-hints-of-greatness-to-come nature, Khadgar was an indisputable success. (And if you end up playing the game, you’ll see why he gets nicknamed “the silver fox” by fans. Hubba hubba.)

Oh, Garona. Why did they make poor Paula Patton wear those weird plastic nubs? A character design should always err on the side of caution; being subtle is preferable to distracting the audience. Similarly, the male Orcs had an opposite but equal issue; at times it looked like their massive lower tusks weren’t actually anchored in their mouths.

The humans fared much better. It was a gamble to replicate the flamboyant blue and gold armor of Stormwind, but this time it was a gamble that payed off.

I think the final issue with Warcraft was that the Orcs seemed to have eaten the majority of the budget. Stormwind, Dalaran, and Ironforge got some gorgeous wide shots that really gave an impression of massive size and scale, but many scenes suffered from an almost claustrophobic atmosphere due to very small sets. I went in expecting to see lots of grand sweeping vistas like in Lord of the Rings and it was disappointing when that didn’t happen nearly as often as I’d hoped.

All nitpicking aside, I genuinely enjoyed Warcraft and found most of the reviews to be overly harsh and bordering on the ridiculous. It’s not going to garner any Best Picture nominations, but it was a very solid film for what it aspired to be; a fun summer blockbuster.

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Note: There’s a lot than can (and has) been written on this subject, but I noticed that virtually all the articles I was seeing tended to shrug off the concern of spoilers on the basis that the franchise is over 20 years old by now. While this is certainly understandable, I decided there was a niche for a more general overview for people who want to go in with a blank slate. I have also seen more than a few comments on social media along the lines of, “The Warcraft trailer is so confusing, I can’t even tell who they’re supposed to be fighting!”

A few things set the Warcraft universe apart from many other popular fantasy settings. One of the most important aspects of Warcraft is that the “sides” (known in-game as the two major factions) are not as cut-and-dried as in traditional good vs evil fantasies.

The Alliance is generally what you’d think of as the “good guys” in more traditional fantasy stories like the Lord of the Rings. Gallant knights in shining armor, gruff but honorable dwarves, etc.

The Horde is mostly made up of races you’d normally think of as the “bad guys,” and in the time period the movie is set in, these are the Orcs, aka the giant green people you’ve seen in the trailers.

The Horde and the Alliance are almost constantly at war in the Warcraft universe, and the upcoming movie will be showing the birth of this decades-long conflict. While “faction pride” is a big thing among fans who like to root for one side or the other, the narrative usually tries to make the point that both sides are at fault; even the “monsters” can be the good guys and even the “good guys” can behave like monsters.

I think this is the part that’s leaving a lot of people who have seen the trailer scratching their heads in confusion. It’s not clear from the trailer who the good guys are or who you’re supposed to be rooting for.

That very thing is the hallmark of the Warcraft franchise. It’s not like the Jedi vs the Sith, the Order of the Phoenix vs the Death Eaters, the fellowship of the ring vs the forces of Sauron, etc. The viewer will be presented with both sides of the conflict, and the narrative will not tell you that either the Orcs or the Humans are the heroes you should root for. That’s what you’re supposed to argue with your friends about when the movie is over.

There is also something akin to a third “faction,” though it’s never really referred to as such. Both the Horde and the Alliance, on occasion, must put aside their differences to fight a common enemy who is forever scheming to wipe out everyone.

This is another hallmark of the franchise. There is an ongoing tug-of-war between those among each faction who cannot forgive the atrocities the other side has committed, and more neutral characters who strive to convince their brethren to work together for the greater good.

And finally, the movie is based off of the original real-time strategy game Warcraft, approximately 30 years before the setting of the extremely popular and more well-known MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game) World of Warcraft.

If you enjoy the movie and wish to dive deeper into the Warcraft universe, subscribe to the blog and stay tuned for my upcoming posts on getting started in the World of Warcraft game. In the meantime, check out my Top 10 Favorite Places In World of Warcraft. If you’re a former Warcraft player looking to get back into the game, I wrote a post on the upcoming World of Warcraft: Legion expansion due to release this August.

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In preparation for the upcoming release of Warcraft on June 10th, I though I’d take a moment to share my favorite locations in the World of Warcraft. Feel free to chime in with your own favorite places in the comment section!

10. The Plaguewood

Located deep in the Eastern Plaguelands, the Plaguewood is one of the spookier places in the game. Massive, sickly, pock-marked mushrooms tower over dead ground patrolled by various Scourge monstrosities. The rain that beats down seems like it would add to the oppressive atmosphere rather than bring life to the bleak landscape.

9. Hellfire Peninsula

Granted, the actual terrain of Hellfire Peninsula is about as ugly as it gets. But the sky is second to none. Three moons hang in the perpetual black of space with streamers of light. The shattered remnants of the land that broke apart still hover bizarrely in air, and the edges of the zone plummet off into the nothingness of space in a vertigo-inducing tableau that makes for one of World of Warcraft’s most haunting landscapes.

8. Frostfire Ridge

While I enjoy all of the various snow zones in WoW, Frostfire Ridge stands apart for the winning combination of lava pools and billowy snow drifts. It’s one of those zones where I always readily imagine exactly what it would be like in real life. Walking along, bundled tightly against the uncompromising cold, and coming upon the heat of of those pools like an oasis in a desert.

7. Ramkahen

Set against the backdrop of endless dunes and wind-driven sands, Ramakhen is a haven to travelers attempting to traverse the Sahara-inspired zone of Uldum. Towering statues rise up from a lush tropical paradise. Broad sandstone buildings sit around courtyards where the locals host open-air markets, offering up their wares in colorful stalls. Did I mention that those locals are cat-like centaur people?

6. Kezan

Kezan is the starting zone for the Goblin race. Sadly, it can’t be re-visited after the player finishes up all the Kezan quests. It’s fun and obscenely tacky and I just can’t get enough. It’s a big departure from the more serious and traditional fantasy-inspired starting zones, making it a quirky little palate-cleanser. Wooden pink flamingos and lawns of Astroturf abound. Multicolored string lights are draped around metal buildings, and empty cola cans are sprinkled liberally throughout. Flamboyant animal print decor abounds, and the Goblins love their poolside parties, complete with inflatable pool toys.

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens fast approaching and the World of Warcraft announcements regarding both the new expansion, Legion, and the upcoming Warcraft film, I find that a lot of the arguments and negative comments I’ve seen surrounding both of these franchises tend to have similarities.

Warlords of Draenor is widely believed to be the worst expansion of the game’s history, resulting in almost record breaking lows in their subscription numbers. Though the Star Wars prequels have received much more acclaim and a colossal following, they cleaved the fandom in half to an extent that few franchises have ever experienced.

Disclaimer before I continue: while I genuinely dislike the prequels themselves, I hold no animosity or disparaging feelings towards the people who prefer them. I wish it didn’t even need to be said, but in light of Simon Pegg’s comments about prequel fans on top of the general animosity they already often experience, I feel it’s important to make that clear up front. And if you’re a fan of the original trilogy who can’t make a case against a few movies you dislike without directing vitriol at the human beings who enjoy them, I invite you to kindly grow the bleep up. In the words of Wil Wheaton, don’t be a dick.

Both Star Wars and World of Warcraft are in the midst of many expectations surrounding the next installments of their sagas. Fans like myself who were let down by the prequels are hoping for a second chance at building on the original trilogy and finally re-experiencing the excitement we used to associate with the franchise as a whole. Prequel fans are hoping the emphasis on preserving the feel of the original trilogy won’t result in Abrams discarding everything introduced in episodes one through three. In realm of Azeroth, Warcraft fans are desperately hoping that Legion signals a change back to content-rich expansions and lore that has actual relevance to the main story that has been built up for the past 20 years.

I’ve noticed a lot of comments that seem to imply a dichotomy between embracing hope and managing expectations. Many people seem to think the best defense against false hope is a good offense and relish listing in detail everything that could possibly go wrong and how they won’t believe in positive changes until they see them.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” is a common mantra. J.J. Abrams promises and emphasis on real scenery and traditional SFX over pure CGI? “I’ll believe it when I see it!”Warcraft devs promise that dungeons will be more challenging and function as true end game content? “I’ve heard that before! I’ll believe it when I see it!”

I get it, I do. Hell, I’ve even been that person on occasion (*cough* Horde pvp this expansion *cough*). But I still think it’s the wrong attitude to take.

We’ve all heard and perhaps even espoused the concept of going in with low expectations in the hopes of being presently surprised. The problem with that attitude, however, is that the mind is malleable to suggestion, most especially to suggestions that come from inside our own heads. Telling yourself for months on end that you expect to be let down can have a very real effect on how you perceive something.

I’ve been let down by Warlords, to say the least (and being a newish player who only really started playing halfway through Mists of Pandaria, I recently had the depressing realization that by the time Legion comes out Warlords will have made up the majority of time playing Warcraft). But the funny thing is I had very low expectations going in; I was never a big Orc fan and Metzen’s description of the expansion as a “boys’ trip” was a tremendous turnoff. Managing my expectations did nothing to soften the blow of how awful the expansion turned out. I was perhaps a victim of hype as a tween going in to see The Phantom Menace, but I had managed my expectations sufficiently by the time Revenge of the Sith came around and that did nothing to increase my enjoyment of the film.

So I’m going to embrace positive thinking in the lead up to The Force Awakens and Legion. Spending weeks or months griping and wringing my hands and thinking up new and creative ways to be disappointing isn’t going to inoculate me with some mystical protection against disappointment. It will just mean that I have wasted weeks and months out of my life being unhappy about something I have no power to change, and that sounds like an appalling waste. I choose to spend the upcoming time savoring my happy anticipation.

At Blizzcon a few weeks ago, I was struck by how enthusiastic everyone was. All the grim predictions I’d heard about how people would surely boo Metzen off the stage or that there’s be loads of awkward and embarrassing silences whenever the Warcraft devs took the stage never materialized. And I was then equally struck by how the exact same announcements were met with endless pissing and moaning and outrage online once I got back home and started browsing the Warcraft forums.

Humans being social creatures, we take our cues from the people around us, no matter how we’d like to think we’re far too intelligent and individual to ever be susceptible to our peers’ influence. I’m making the conscious effort to spend my time and energy in places that will reinforce the positive attitude I wish to continue fostering. Things like Star Wars and Warcraft bring me joy and feed the majority of my social connections. I have a choice, as does everyone, to focus on the good and the positive.

And in case it has been unclear, I am in no way suggesting anyone should not bring critical thought to films or games, or that they should try to force themselves to enjoy something. What I’m arguing for is a move away from the mindset of nitpicking and bemoaning the fate of a piece of entertainment we have not seen yet. There’s time enough to criticize something after you’ve at least experienced it.

There’s a lot of great things coming in the following months. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the first course of a veritable feast of media juggernauts beloved by Geeks. Avengers: Civil War. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Warcraft. Ghostbusters. Deadpool. Suicide Squad. Grousing about what could go wrong won’t make you like them any more. You’ll like them or you won’t, but the time you spend feeding negativity can never be recovered.

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Exciting news from this year’s BlizzCon did much to whet the appetites of Warcraft fans. I got to meet several wonderful people from my realm, take the new Demon Hunter class for a test drive, and experience the new announcements with fans just as excited as I was. The opening ceremony is free to watch on YouTube for anyone who didn’t buy a virtual ticket.

First up, the epic trailer for the Warcraft movie was released on the first day of Blizzcon. While there’s still many months of post left, it’s looking good.

Next, the cinematic for Legion was released as well:

A few big things stand out:

It’s nice to see a female character getting major screentime in a cinematic

There’s a bit of a parallel with Varian’s dialogue and Terenas’s voice-over in the Wrath of the Lich King cinematic

The suggestions of cooperation between Varian and Sylvanas seems to be setting a tone for Legion very different from the narrative that has been central to the Warcraft franchise for 20 years. “For Azeroth!”

The leveling system and open world will be utilizing the scaling tech introduced with Challenge Modes and further refined with Timewalking Dungeons. Most new zones will scale with the character, allowing players to choose which order they wish to quest in.

Classes are getting a major overhaul, with several specs being renamed entirely to give them a more distinct flavor. Talents are being significantly altered and players will have “hundreds” to choose from.

Professions are getting a shift in focus from somewhat passive activities. Instead of learning recipes from the vendor, players will have to venture out into the world and hunt them up. Recipes will have upgrades available as well. Fishing is going to get some changes; Ion Hazzikostas remarked that it should have a sense of excitement rather than players wondering what they’re going to watch on their second monitor.

The possibility of characters being able to join multiple guilds, like in MMOs such as Guild Wars 2, is something being considered but no timeline for when players could expect such a feature was given.

Sadly PvP news was scarce, and devs confirmed that no new battlegrounds would be introduced in Legion. There was no real elaboration on what players were told back in August when the Legion website went live.

I got to play a demo of the Demon Hunter starting zone, which begins at level 98. Bonus objectives are back and offer a significant boost in XP. Double-jumps and glide function in tandem with many abilities, giving Demon Hunters an unprecedented amount of mobility. It’s going to be an amazing class, and there’s several new types of demon added into the lore. People who pre-order Legion will get early access to the Demon Hunter starter zone, though exactly how early is not yet known.

As a fun bonus, Blizz set up an area modeled after the Darkmoon Faire. One of the most exciting and amazing moments of my life was to approach that iconic arch with it’s all-seeing eye gazing sternly down at entrants:

This is part review, part love letter dedicated to a book about a creator who has inspired me like few others ever have. You’re Never Weird On The Internet (Almost) is the memoir of Felicia Day, creator of The Guild, co-star of Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and co-founder of Geek & Sundry with Kim Evey and Sheri Bryant.

At the risk of being dramatic, I partially credit Felicia and The Guild with the fact that several years ago, when I was at a low point in a lifelong battle with depression, I chose life instead of suicide. (That’s a subtle hint that this book review is going to be somewhat biased; I promise, on my honor, to return to my regularly scheduled nit-picking of all things nerdy on Monday. Ahem.).

You’re Never Weird On The Internet is essentially a book about two things: being an outsider and finding your place on the internet, and the story of a young person who decides to create her dream job after spending most of her 20s trying to chase one that never materialized. If you’re a geek who’s been suffering the oh-god-what-am-I-doing-with-my-life blues, this is the book for you.

Never Weird starts out with an anecdote about Felicia feeling uncomfortable and out of place for going into Build-a-Bear as a 30-something year old woman. I know what you’re thinking. For a split second, even I had a reaction of, “Oh, come now, there’s nothing really weird about that; lots of adults go to Build-a-Bear by themselves!”

Except…I had an almost identical experience this year, just a few months prior to turning 30. I breezed in thinking I’d get myself something cute, pretending that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I’d be out of place didn’t exist. But there I was, suddenly surrounded by moms with little kids in tow, and I felt like the creepy adult intruding in a space where I didn’t belong.

Geeky media and the enthusiasm many of us having for ‘kids’ things has become so much more mainstream in recent years it’s sometimes hard to remember that our shameless enjoyment of such isn’t free from those fumbling moments of awkwardness. It was the perfect story to begin the book with, because it’s a great example of something none of our internet friends would find remotely odd–or even suspect that other people still find it odd–yet it plays out so uncomfortably in the real world. These conflicts still crop up.

There’s a joyful bit of nostalgia as Felicia talks about the early days of online communities; even if you can’t relate to being homeschooled, you probably have fond memories of the first days you went online and found out that people who shared your interests were right there at your fingertips.

I think a lot of people from Gen X and the Millennials can relate to Felicia’s struggle in the years prior to making The Guild. In many places I felt like I was reading about myself. The struggle with trying to break into a field for years only to cling to the edges, constantly unsure if you should surrender to the inevitable or keep trying. Burying yourself in an online community because it feels so much more real and tangible than the bland hamster wheel you’re endlessly treading on in the meat space. The crushing fear as your 20s slip away and every new year brings more anxiety and the sureness that some cosmic clock is running out on you. It’s a story that resonates with my generation; I feel it in my own life. I hear these anxieties from the people I know on a constant basis.

This book is about all that anxiety and dread and how one woman basically said no more; I’m going to really do something. I can’t really describe how much hope and joy there is in You’re Never Weird On The Internet for people who have been wrestling with creative block and depression. Most of us will never come close to her level of success, but that’s never really the point of books like these. The point is to get excited about carving out a living on your own terms through hard work and finally being able to say that you feel as if you’ll be leaving something good behind when you’re done here.

At this point some of you might be asking, “Yes, yes, that’s all very inspirational and I might even watch it if it ever gets made into a Lifetime movie when I have a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and nothing to lose, but who the hell is this Felicia chick and why should I care?”

The Guild was a sensation in the earliest days of YouTube and a pioneering project in online TV. Though it finished its final season several years ago, The Guild’s influence is still felt in the world of crowdfunding and independent media. It was one of the earliest and best-known examples of a large-scale crowdfunding effort. It was Felicia’s baby, and it’s the reason I (and, I suspect, quite a few other people) started playing World of Warcraft.

I remember the very moment I decided to start playing. It was because of Clara. Clara, singing an in-game holiday song with cheerful abandon along with the NPCs, wearing that silly squid hat. It wasn’t even the first time I’d seen that episode; I started playing WoW in mid 2012, two years after the episode premiered.

But watching it one day, I couldn’t sit in my chair one minute longer; I was in the car and heading to Best Buy for a copy of the game before I was even fully aware I’d made a decision. I stopped playing after a while because I was shy and hadn’t joined a guild. But a year later, when my depression was at its worst, my 10 year high school reunion was fast approaching and I had nothing to show for my time on this earth except a crappy retail job and a hard drive of barely-started writing projects, I gave it one more shot.

And I came alive. I felt like I belonged for the first time in almost a decade. I had friends. I never actually noticed when the suicidal urges fell away. It wasn’t until a few months later that I recalled how often, in the months preceding joining my guild, that I wanted to end it all. It’s not the perfect solution to unhappiness with real life; the six months or so, I was a woman obsessed, much like Felicia was. Thankfully my interest relaxed to a more reasonable level and I didn’t have to give it up cold turkey; Warcraft is very much still a love of mine and a big part of my life.

Thank you, Felicia Day. And extra special thanks to the employee at Build-A-Bear who didn’t make me feel weird for shopping there (even though he did make me kiss the little fabric heart before he’d put it in the bear’s chest) and even suggested I let him overstuff teddy bear Hulk’s muscles so they look like they’re about to burst at the seams. I sleep with him every night (Teddy bear Hulk, not the Build-A-Bear guy).

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Blizzard Entertainment has released the title of their next Warcraft expansion. World of Warcraft: Legion will build on the long-time conflict with Burning Legion, which has been revived with the current expansion, Warlords of Draenor.

Announced just days after the reveal that subscriptions are at their lowest point since December of 2005 with 5.6 million active subscribers (this includes players who buy their game time with in-game currency), this is a much-needed publicity boost to the famous franchise now approaching its 11th year. The absence of Warcraft front man Chris Metzen from the presentation has been noted and speculated on at length already.

Blizzard seems to have responded to many customer complaints regarding Warlords of Draenor and the past few expansions. Orcs were almost entirely absent from the announcement, the PvP system seems to be getting a massive and much-needed overhaul, dungeons are promised to be making a comeback, weapons will get talent trees and customization options, and transmog will no longer take up bag space.

Demon Hunters are the talk of the Warcraft community right now. This hero class, only the second ever added to the game, will be elf-exclusive and have abilities that are already causing a buzz. The ability to double jump, glide, and see stealthed enemies (as well as those behind objects) is major. It remains to be seen what effect this class will have on PvP. They will also be unique among Warcraft classes in that they are being introduced with only two specs: one for tanking and one for DPS.

The much-lambasted Garrisons have been replaced with Class Halls, returning to a much-requested emphasis on player class flavor. It’s a bit disappointing that true player housing seems further from becoming a reality, but the Class Halls are hopefully a vast improvement over garrisons.

One of the most controversial reveals is artifact weapons. The wording is a little hazy and I don’t believe anything has been confirmed, but people are speculating that the new artifact weapon–one per spec–are the only weapons that will drop in end-game content. Instead of upgrading to different weapons, the emphasis seems to be upgrading one weapon multiple times, personalizing it, and choosing talents for it.

While there have been complaints that this is “lazy” on Blizz’s part instead of offering more weapons, I’m very excited for it. I’ve always felt that replacing a weapon multiple times in one expansion cheapens them and really breaks immersion. A quest chain to retrieve your weapon, upgrading it, making choices about how you use it, etc are much better options for an RPG.

Finally, there is a lot going on in the lore department. Illidan, Maeiv and Gul’dan are back, and Dalaran is going to be the new hub for both factions, suggesting that the Blood Elf purge is being reversed before it was ever reflected in game. Jaina is mysteriously absent and seems to have been replaced by Khadgar. There is much speculation about the potential for character death, including Sylvanas, Varian, Thrall, among others, with varying levels of likelihood.

All in all I’m very excited about the new expansion. World of Warcraft: Legion will go into beta testing this year, with the actual launch happening some time in mid 2016. More news is sure to come from this year’s BlizzCon in early November which I’m happy to be attending this year. Stay tuned for updates.